Principal Engineer – Contested Autonomy and Navigation

Leidos; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 131,300 - 237,350; Full time

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Principal Engineer for the Contested Autonomy team in Huntsville, AL, focused on developing navigational technologies for military applications. You'll manage complex projects, lead algorithm development, and engage in business development efforts.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in autonomy, robotics, and GPS-denied navigation with a Bachelor's or Master's degree in a relevant field. Competitive compensation is offered, with a pay range of $131,300.00 to $237,350.00.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in a relevant field or 10+ years with a Master's degree.
• Subject matter expertise in algorithm development for autonomy.
• Experience leading teams to successful outcomes in prototype projects.

Responsibilities

• Manage and lead technical projects related to autonomous systems.
• Contribute to algorithm development and software deployment.
• Support business development activities including proposals and customer discussions.

Skills

Algorithm development for autonomy

C/C++, Python, and MATLAB

GPS-denied navigation

Leading research and development teams

Business development activities

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering or related field

Master's degree in advanced technical field

Doctorate in technical field

Job description

Serve as a Principal Engineer for the Contested Autonomy and Navigation team in Huntsville, AL. Our team’s mission is to develop and demonstrate contested autonomy and navigation technologies to meet urgent military operational needs to operate in contested, RF‑challenged environments, and rapidly transition this technology to operational platforms to outpace real‑world adversary threats. We support a variety of military autonomous vehicles including drones, unmanned underwater vehicles, and ground robots. Projects involve small teams of engineers working together to meet aggressive customer schedules aimed at near‑term field demonstrations of emerging capabilities. Typical customers include DARPA, Air Force Research Laboratory, Office of Naval Research, and Army engineering research centers.

We are looking for an individual who enjoys leading teams and growing new work while also keeping hands dirty writing software and touching hardware. The position will involve a mix of direct and indirect work focused on development of innovative solutions related to autonomous behavior generation, object detection, multi‑vehicle collaboration, and GPS‑denied navigation for autonomous vehicles.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage and lead highly‑technical projects related to autonomous systems operating in contested environments, with an emphasis on GPS‑denied operations
• Perform as a senior technical independent contributor for algorithm development (computer vision, optimal estimation, AI/ML, path planning, control algorithms) and software deployment to real‑time edge systems
• Recommend and develop new technical solutions and products in support of customer challenges under customer and internally funded research projects
• Support business development activities including white papers, proposals, teaming discussions, technical conferences, and targeted marketing discussions with new customers (but no cold calls)
• Support hardware / software integration and local field testing activities
• Support travel for business development activities and customer‑facing field demonstrations (not expected to be more than 10% of your time)

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or related technical field (including Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Aerospace Engineering) with 12+ years of experience or a Master’s degree in advanced technical field with 10+ years of experience
• Subject matter expertise in algorithm development for autonomy, robotics, unmanned systems, and GPS‑denied navigation
• 10+ years of experience in C/C++, Python, and/or MATLAB
• Experience leading research and development teams to successful outcomes in prototype projects for customers such as DARPA, SOCOM, Army DEVCOM, and AFRL
• Successful history of business development activities including leadership roles in competitive white paper and proposal development that led to contract awards
• Must be a US Citizen and have the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctorate in technical field listed above with 10+ years of experience
• Active Top Secret clearance or above
• Deep customer familiarity with one or two government defense research organizations
• History of involvement with technical conferences and journals (frequent publications, serving as session chair, invited panel member, or journal editor, etc.)

Compensation

Pay Range $131,300.00 – $237,350.00

Commitment to Non‑Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.